Joe Spillman, founder of Wings-Pizza-N-Things, shares some of his insights: “I find the food franchise to be a very positive type of business. If you do a good job, the customer is always loyal. In a restaurant, people are nice to you and your workers. It’s a great environment. When service and quality are good, you have satisfied customers. You’re with family.”

In this economic climate, there will certainly have to be less and less opportunities to take advantage of the benefits that a franchise can bring you - but if you’re smart, and you do your research, you should have a good chance at making a go of it.

Research - of course - is the key to this success - and to that - you need to read up on what others are doing and how things are going for them. It’s a win-win situation. Take a look and find more info here.

The company offers smoothies, bubble tea, gourmet pretzels, chai tea, and even gourmet coffee. There are no Franchise Royalty fee, you own 100% of your store’s revenue, and there is a low capital investment.

After perusing the official site I was unable to come up with the exact starting costs, but there is a ton of information to go over. If you’re interested, you can click here, to find out all the details.

If you love decorating for Christmas…so much so that you’d like to do it for a living…then Christmas Decor may be the franchise opportunity you’ve been waiting for!

This Texas based franchise company has over 400 franchises nationally, and specializes in decorating businesses and home with Christmas-themed lighting and decorating services.

The initial franchise investment is between $19,000 and $42,000 depending on a variety of factors. That gets you a 5 year agreement - with an additional $2,000 renewal fee.

You can find out more information at their official website.

Pizza Hut is planning to temporarily rebrand the 50 year old pizza chain in a radical £100m Million dollar relaunch.

The company does not plan to change the number of Pizza’s on the menu, but they will be adding a total of eight pasta dishes across all 700 restaurants. At least nine of the of them will change their signage immediately.

This is currently happening in the UK, but if its successful, it’s possible that we could see the change reflected in the U.S. as well.

“Collision on Wheels” is an auto body shop on wheels. Essentially they come to your home or office to repair minor dents and scratches, or paint the vehicle if necessary.

Emailwire has the story that “Collision on Wheels” is going to be offering franchise opportunities due to the overwhelming popularity of the service. I can easily see how this would be a popular service, and I won’t be surprised to see this franchise take off very soon.

If you think Collision on Wheels might be right for you, click here to take a look.

Four franchise owners have decided to sue the Miami based Burger King Corp. over the company’s demands for extended hours at local restaurants according to Biz Journals.

According to the lawsuit filed on Tuesday, the corporation has decently demanded that franchisees keep their stores open until 2 a.m. on certain nights, and that they open at 6 a.m. on certain days. This is a drastic change from the previous hours of closing at 11 p.m. and opening at 7 a.m.

Burger King has stated in a written statement that they feel confident they have the right to set required hours of operation per their franchise agreements.

Burger King believes these hours will enable them to more effectively compete with other chains, but the plaintiffs are concerned for the safety of their employees - noting several instances where Burger King employees have been assaulted in the later hours.

We get a lot of emails about potential franchises that people would like to know more about, and one of those most frequently asked about is “Starbucks”.

A quick jump to the Starbucks FAQ section of their website reveals the answer to the age old question: “Can you own a Starbucks Franchise”?

Here’s the official word from the company:

Starbucks does not franchise operations and has no plans to franchise in the foreseeable future.

In North America, the majority of our stores are Company-operated. As an exception, Starbucks may enter into licensing arrangements with companies who provide access to real estate which would otherwise be unavailable such as airport locations, national grocery chains, major food services corporations, college and university campuses and hospitals.

For international business development opportunities please refer to the International Development section of this Web site.

So, I’m sad to say, its just not possible to own a “Starbucks” franchise at this time, unless you happen to own an airpot, college, or hospital of some kind…if you do, good luck, if not, you might want to look into other coffee related business franchise opportunities.

The DSOA (Dealer Store Owners Association) which represents more than 200 Sears stores filed suite against Sears Roebuck & Co. in Minneapolis federal court this week.

“Most dealers invested their life savings and 401(k) plans in these stores,” the group’s president, Steve Granger, said. “Now they risk losing it all. … This is hardly the way to build trust in a brand name.”

Sears responded, “It’s true that you can now find Sears brands like Kenmore and Craftsman at Kmart stores. In all likelihood, the combination of Sears Holdings is putting a lot of emphasis on popularizing these brands,” said Kurt Barnard, president of Retail Forecasting Group. “I don’t know to what extent this might impinge or inflict loss of market share to the dealers.”

How will this news affect Sears retail outlets in the near future? It’s uncertain, but we’ll be on the lookout for future updates.

Could your next career move be just a Franchise Showcase away? The 2007 Houston Franchise Showcase can answer that question and more, as some of the nation’s fastest growing franchises will be on display for would-be business owners to learn what it takes to be successful in a franchise concept.

Hosting the Franchise Showcase is The Entrepreneur’s Source (TES), the country’s leading franchise education company. The event is scheduled for Saturday, November 10th at the Northwest Forest Conference Center & Hotel. The one-day Showcase of Exhibitors opens to the public on Saturday morning at 10:00 am until 3:00 pm. TES business coaches will also be on-hand to answer many of the questions people have when considering business ownership including how to get started and the common fears and pitfalls.

North Harris Montgomery Community College District’s Small Business Development Center is also a sponsor for the event and will host a booth and present a half hour informational session for all attendees. They will also have an exhibit booth at the Franchise Showcase offering valuable information and services on business ownership.

“The Houston Franchise Showcase is designed to help people explore the various business options available,” says Skip Tierno, regional developer for The Entrepreneur’s Source (TES). “Education and information is the key to making the right business decision for one’s lifestyle, goals and needs,” he added.

“We’re pleased to be a part of Houston Franchise Showcase, which complements our mission to work with start-up and existing small businesses in the area,” says Sal Mira, director of the North Harris Montgomery Community College District Small Business Development Center. “Franchising can be a worthy consideration for those entrepreneurs who do not want to start from scratch or buy an existing business, though there may be some similar challenges. We’re happy to partner with TES in making entrepreneurs aware of resources such as ours that can help them succeed,” he added.

The Showcase offers attendees a chance to speak one-on-one with franchise representatives and offers an educational program hosted by local franchise owners and business experts.

Click here for the full story.

The OC Register has some great tips on how to prepare yourself to buy a franchise

Papa John’s has been named the Top Franchise for Minorities

and Rent’N Go has named Pat Terhune VP Franchise Development